Wait for It... Wait for It... [7-inch] (2010)

Brick Gun

2010's Wait for It... Wait for It 7" on Brick Gun Records is Dead to Me's fourth release, and showcases the group's fourth lineup. The liner notes list the lineup as Chicken, Ian, Sam, and Ken, although the booklet only features pictures of Chicken and Ian, and the group recently stated they were "excited to be recording with the new lineup or the first time," so it's not a huge leap to imagine the two recorded this 7" by themselves. It's also worth noting that this is also the band's first release not on Fat Wreck Chords, and without that Fat Wreck budget, the production suffers a bit. These sound like demos, or live takes. It's not unlistenable, but compared to how pristine African Elephants sounded, it falls a bit flat.

Kicking things off, the title track is classic Dead to Me. Fun to sing along to, with a little better production it would sound at home on Cuban Ballerina. It's the best track on the EP. The next track, "Pay Stub" feels like five songs rolled into one, and not in a "Bohemian Rhapsody"/"Jesus of Suburbia" way. To put it frankly, it's a bit of a jumbled mess and probably the weakest song in the Dead to Me canon thus far. That said, the weakest Dead to Me song is still head and shoulders above what most punk bands are putting out today. Closer "Attack Form" gets things back on track and ends things on a high note.

The biggest difference here from the band's earlier work, other than the muddy production, is that Chicken sings lead on every track. In the past, Jack Dalrymple and Nathan Grice's melodic voices provided a nice balance to Chicken's more growled delivery, and they are missed here, although I swear I can hear Nathan cooing in the background on the title track, much like he did at the end of "Modern Muse" from African Elephants.

As for the 7-inch itself, it's an interesting package. Its gold oil packaging makes it resemble a Little Golden book. The accompanying 20-page booklet is worth the price of admission alone. It will definitely stand out in your record collection.

Dead to Me's propensity to inject new blood into their lineup on a semi-regular basis keeps things exciting. This is not the band's best work. It's actually quite the opposite, but it's still an above-average punk rock release, and an enjoyable way to spend eight minutes.